Stacked Deck holds off Pink Lloyd in Kennedy Road

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Stacked Deck ($3.80) staked his claim for a second straight Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion male sprinter by winning the Grade 2 Kennedy Road Stakes for the second year in a row at Woodbine on Friday.

Stacked Deck tracked the leading longshot, Boreal Spirit, along the inside in the six-furlong dash, and then assumed command exiting the turn. He led throughout the stretch, and held off a closing rail bid from Pink Lloyd to prevail by a length, in 1:08.19, a time that was just .03 off Woodbine’s synthetic track record.

Commute rallied for third. He was followed by Boreal Spirit, Puntrooskie, Jacks Escarpment, Passion for Action, and Colleen’s Sailor.

Rafael Hernandez rode Stacked Deck for trainer Barb Minshall.

“The horse was so ready,” Hernandez said. “Barb did a great job. We’ve been working with the horse so much for this race, and everything went good. One horse went to the lead, and we let him do his thing. He’s a great horse. He was just rolling in the stretch.”

Stacked Deck, a son of First Samurai, earned $120,000 of the $210,800 purse for owner-breeder Bruce Lunsford.